NEW DELHI: The Delhi HC has called for responses from the Central government and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on a petition alleging that AIIMS failed to conduct the spot admission round for the Institutes of National Importance Combined Entrance Test (INI-CET) 2025, despite the availability of vacant seats.
Justice Vikas Mahajan issued notices to the Centre and AIIMS, Delhi, following a plea by several doctors who had appeared for the January 2025 session of the INI-CET. The matter was heard on 28 March, with the court scheduling the next hearing for 4 April.
The petition challenges AIIMS’ decision to forgo the spot admission round, which the petitioners argue was meant to take place after the open admission round for INI-CET 2025. Advocate Tanvi Dubey, representing the petitioners, presented the institution’s prospectus in court, highlighting that the seat allocation process explicitly included a spot round if required. She urged the court to instruct to immediately organise the spot admission round.
AIIMS, however, countered the claims, arguing that the petition was “misconceived”. Its legal counsel contended that vacant postgraduate seats could only be filled by individual Institutes of National Importance (INIs) through a spot round, subject to approval by their respective authorities. AIIMS further stated that the institutes with vacancies were essential parties to the case. In response, the petitioners’ counsel indicated plans to file an application to include the concerned INIs in the proceedings.
The INI-CET exam for postgraduate medical courses, including MD, MS, MCh (6 years), DM (6 years), and MDS, was conducted on 10 November 2024, with results announced on 16 November. According to the petition, the AIIMS prospectus had assured candidates that seat allocation would follow a structured process, including first and second rounds of counselling, an open round, and a spot round if needed.
The petitioners claimed they were led to believe a spot round would take place but were later shocked to learn that AIIMS had decided against it. They argued that this unexpected change denied them a fair chance to compete for available seats. “The candidates have been unfairly deprived of an opportunity they rightfully deserved. They worked tirelessly to secure good ranks, only to be left in the dark about the cancellation of the spot round,” the plea stated.